Promising product, poor follow through
The AI messaging and guest communication automation genuinely works well, and when it’s functioning as intended it’s easy to see why this product has fans. I wanted it to work for my operation.
The problem: when guests contact me via SMS, HostBuddy responds through the Airbnb channel instead. For STR operators building an off-platform guest communication strategy, this breaks the entire workflow.
I’ve been working through this with their support team for several months. To their credit, they eventually identified the root cause and escalated it to their integration partner. But that was weeks ago — since then, silence. Three follow-up emails with no response.
The support experience has been inconsistent throughout. I was given confidently incorrect information multiple times about features included in my own plan, and had to produce their own documentation to correct it. Named individuals on their team were more helpful than the general queue, but even they have gone dark at the critical moment.
If you’re a casual host who needs basic automated guest messaging, this product likely works fine for you. If you’re running a multi-property operation that depends on precise channel routing and SMS strategy, verify your specific use case works end-to-end before committing.
The problem: when guests contact me via SMS, HostBuddy responds through the Airbnb channel instead. For STR operators building an off-platform guest communication strategy, this breaks the entire workflow.
I’ve been working through this with their support team for several months. To their credit, they eventually identified the root cause and escalated it to their integration partner. But that was weeks ago — since then, silence. Three follow-up emails with no response.
The support experience has been inconsistent throughout. I was given confidently incorrect information multiple times about features included in my own plan, and had to produce their own documentation to correct it. Named individuals on their team were more helpful than the general queue, but even they have gone dark at the critical moment.
If you’re a casual host who needs basic automated guest messaging, this product likely works fine for you. If you’re running a multi-property operation that depends on precise channel routing and SMS strategy, verify your specific use case works end-to-end before committing.
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Great App to make my life easier
Hostbuddy has helped me to get my time back with my short term rental. The AI sounds very human and does a great job automatically escalating to humans.
Amazing app
Could not run my STR hosting business without this!
